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Old 12-13-2011, 06:42 PM   #121
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I don't get why humans can't do a little better job of standardization.

For example, our two Toyota vehicles have oil filters that are almost exactly the same. Why aren't they the same? There are probably 50 different sizes of commonly used oil filter, when the world could probably standardize on about four different types.

And each company has their own number. Here are the part numbers for the same filter: Fram PH4967, Toyota 90915-YZZA2, Pennzoil PZ-39, Bosch 3311

Everyone would benefit from having only four different filters, and everyone using the same part number.

Another example, there are hundreds of image file formats. Only a few are necessary.

We've had the concept of standardized parts since 1790. When things are standardized (e.g. USB cables) everyone benefits. But even with the USB cables there are many different connectors on the non-computer end.

And chargers...
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Old 12-13-2011, 06:55 PM   #122
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But, but, but that would mean higher efficiencies...

And, and, that means more people who will have to join the ER forum, non-voluntarily I might add.

Observing how megacorps operate, I have recently come to the conclusion that there is method to their madness. They want to keep everybody busy doing nonsensical work. It's not a written thing, spelled out anywhere in the company policies. It's just that each department would want to grow, to have more budget, a bigger piece of the pie in the company hierarchy. So, there is really no incentive for directors or department managers to produce more with less. What's in it for them?

Now, they can still survive financially, because their competitors are also doing the same thing. Inefficiencies could be observed everywhere in society. We are all on the same footing!

It all works out, until a new kid on the block, those emerging market countries, starts to stir up trouble by working harder than we do. That's when the trouble starts, in my view.
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Old 12-13-2011, 07:07 PM   #123
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I don't get that people don't get stuff. Google and Wiki have pretty much solved most of life's mysteries. Although this forum and the Khan academy deserve a shout out also for helping me "get" stuff.

I will admit that my brain hurts trying to understand Steven Hawking's books, quantum mechanicss, and of course the #1 mystery in the world in women.
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Old 12-13-2011, 07:54 PM   #124
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Nui <------- takes the Aleutians off her bucket list of places to go
You are going to miss out on the ultimate bragging rights, skinny dipping in the Bering sea.

I have done it.
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Old 12-13-2011, 07:58 PM   #125
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Lou-evil...

How 'bout those Hoosiers!
They were ready and played a great game.
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Old 12-13-2011, 08:24 PM   #126
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I don't get that people don't get stuff. Google and Wiki have pretty much solved most of life's mysteries...
I beg to differ.

Yes, Wikipedia and the Internet in general are extremely handy in helping one "gets" stuff. But that is only in the knowledge realm of history, the sciences, etc... We can never "get" the depth of the human soul, the nooks and crannies of the human mind. I will never "get" what some people do. I don't think people can really "get" what I do or think either. And I may not want to be so transparent, although I am really not that weird.

Well, I must be only just a little weird, because my wife of 31 years seemed to understand me fairly well. Or was it that she has learned to recognize my modus operandi, but doesn't really "get" me as she proclaims often? Heck, I don't "get" myself sometimes...


PS. Time for some music. Posted this before, but I have to flog it once more.

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Old 12-13-2011, 10:13 PM   #127
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I will admit that my brain hurts trying to understand Steven Hawking's books, quantum mechanicss, and of course the #1 mystery in the world in women.
Lucy Honeychurch, a heroine of Room With a View says "Why do men always have opinions about women? I don't have opinions about men."

I think it may not be true that she did not have opinions about men, but it is certainly true that we men do tend to categorize and intellectualize and stereotype women. If we ever stopped and just looked and listened with an open mind, we might be very surprised- and likely pleased.

Ha
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Old 12-13-2011, 11:07 PM   #128
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NW-Bound, my mom and I played and sang that song ("Windmills of Your Mind") she had in a music book back in the late 1970s. We both played it on the piano and I could also play it on the guitar.

We played it in a more upbeat manner, though, not the slow ballad style in the video clip. I recall back then on the old "Muppets Show" one of the muppets sang the song very quickly with a funny backdrop and that was more like how we sang it. I wonder if that is on a video clip?
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Old 12-13-2011, 11:15 PM   #129
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A funny (to everyone else ) sidelight: As you know, the "procedure" is done with local anesthetic. With the first cut, I rose off the table as the anesthetic had not been completely effective.
There are some parts of the human anatomy where you just don't want to see (let alone smell) the smoke rising off the cauterizer...

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I flew from Midway to Adak and couldn't wait to refuel and get the heck out of there...
Petropavlovsk and Vladivostok look pretty nice by comparison to Adak. Especially through the periscope's high-power setting.

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I don't get why humans can't do a little better job of standardization.
The term you're seeking is "confusopoly".
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Old 12-14-2011, 04:04 AM   #130
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One thing I don't get: the current fashion trend of winter sweaters with short sleeves. Makes no sense in MN.
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Old 12-14-2011, 04:30 AM   #131
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Women wearing boots during the winter - in Florida.
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Old 12-14-2011, 04:59 AM   #132
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Well, not sure if crosswind had anything to do with it, but it came in a bit fast, landed long, then run out of runway.
Depends on what the criteria are. Everyone's heard "A good landing is one that everybody walks away from".

A great landing is when they can use the airplane again.
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Old 12-14-2011, 05:35 AM   #133
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Old 12-14-2011, 06:22 AM   #134
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Women wearing boots during the winter - in Florida.
Women wearing sandals during winter in Tennessee and Georgia.
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Old 12-14-2011, 07:06 AM   #135
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Everyone would benefit from having only four different filters, and everyone using the same part number.
Being that I retired from an OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer), I could write pages on why there are different numbers, I'll just comment on some of the reasons.

The part number is more than just a part number. Ours indicated specific coding, and was used (based upon the coding) to drive IT systems related to design, manufacture, modification, and further improvement. Not all OEM replacements (e.g. the companies who manufacture generic replacement parts) have the same reason to improve or use the same part number schema in their in-house systems. While we would change part numbers to match the rev (revision) due to design/improvement, OEM replacement companies may or may not decide to "improve their product".

Also, if they decided to improve on an old product that we no longer produced (but they had a business to maintain), their schema (part number) would always change along the way.

Another thing as related to marketing (on the OEM side). When I started there (in the late 70's), we were "vertically integrated" - that is we produced in-house all our own parts (from screws on up) for the finished product.

When we were bought out (more than once) and the new owners decided to have third party suppliers (to eliminate the cost/maintenance of in-house production equipment - such as screw machines), we needed to maintain the part number under "our rules" to reflect the source of the part used in our product.

If there was a safety recall (think run-away Toyota's), we needed to determine what actual part number was used in our product, and which supplier actually supplied the product along with the manufacture/use date.

Just to point out that a part number is not "generic" at all. It's used for much more just to figure out what kind of oil filter you need to replace...

As an additional point as related to recalls, I attended some IT conferences with a guy from American Airlines that I got to know, back in the '80's. We were talking about the timeline of recalls (since we both did them). At my company, the federal recall notice (or indivudial court action) meant that we could provide the manufacture info for a unit (consisting typically of +20k parts) within a 2-3 week period. That would have to be further matched against the maintenance record of the vehicle to account for non-OEM parts used after delivery.

For him (working with an aircraft builder, such as Boeing) and an aircraft went down, it was required within a 24-36 hour time period by the feds. Boeing would have to supply the initial OEM tail number build info, and American would have to provide maintenance/upgrade part info ASAP. If a failing part was still "in the air", those units would have to be grounded immediately - depending on the fault.

Just to point out that part numbers are important, and there is a reason for multiple ID's for the "same assumed part"...
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Old 12-14-2011, 12:48 PM   #136
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Those people you see at the 7-11 wearing pajamas.
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Old 12-14-2011, 12:51 PM   #137
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Those people you see at the 7-11 wearing pajamas.
From what I've read on the post re "favorite thing about retirement", those people must be retirees.
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Old 12-14-2011, 01:35 PM   #138
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One thing I don't get: the current fashion trend of winter sweaters with short sleeves. Makes no sense in MN.
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Women wearing boots during the winter - in Florida.
We can tell that it's winter in Hawaii when the fashionistas start wearing knee-high boots with their short-shorts and tank tops.

I don't see anything wrong with that, but I'll keep my eyes on the situation...
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Old 12-14-2011, 03:07 PM   #139
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Same here ....

OTOH, I make sure the diswasher is "loaded properly" (to ensure a good water pattern to all dishes ) which she dosen't do.

We both have our strange habits...

Yeah -29 yrs - and my dishes were always cleaner -in my mind.

heh heh heh - and later an SO who made me take out the dishwashaer cause she didn't like them. Wouldn't let me wash either.
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Old 12-14-2011, 03:28 PM   #140
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I don't get it when people keep their garages packed for years with boxes of junk, the contents of which elude them it has been so long since they have opened them, while their expensive cars sit parked in the driveway...baking in the sun during the summer and gathering snow that must be cleaned off in the winter.

I also don't get renting storage units for years and years...racking up bills for more junk they will never use.
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